


Snow Fall in Canada

by imaflashcard



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-24 21:25:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17711849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaflashcard/pseuds/imaflashcard
Summary: Virgil, who's lived in Florida his whole life, is adjusting to his first Canadian winter, and Logan can't wait for him to see snow for the first time.





	Snow Fall in Canada

**Author's Note:**

> heyyo y'all, it me again :) big bang fics are fun, thanks to the mods for being amazing and working hard to organize this all <3 i enjoyed writing this analogical fic (with some sublot royality ;)) and i hope you guys enjoy reading it! (link to bang art will be posted at the end notes once it goes up)
> 
> TWs: mild sexual innuendos, sympathetic Deceit, minor anxiety attack, mentions of insomnia/anxiety/depression

 

“Logan. Logan, wake up.”

 

“... do I have to? It’s- what time is it?”

 

“That’s the problem, Logan. It’s 7:30.”

 

Logan sat up in bed quickly. Virgil was perched on the bed next to him, curled up into a ball but sitting on his feet still. He was looking anxiously back and forth between the window and Logan’s face.

 

“Is the problem that I overslept? Yes, that is an issue -”

 

“Lo, it’s still dark out. Why is it 7:30 in the morning and  _ dark outside _ ?”

 

Logan glanced towards the window. The world outside was dark, minus the artificial glow of the street lights. Logan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “It’s- always like that? Around daylight saving -”

 

“Logan, it’s never been  _ this dark _ . I think something is wrong.”

 

A sudden smile spread across Logan’s face as he realized why the morning darkness was so unfamiliar to his boyfriend. He resisted laughing for Virgil’s sake, but Virgil noticed the shift in Logan’s demeanor and gave him a horrified look.

 

“Wh- what are you smirking about? This isn’t funny, Lo! Did something happen? Did the sun go out or - something, no, the sun couldn’t have gone out, then we’d be dead….”

 

“Virgil - Virgil, look at me.” Logan gently directed Virgil’s attention away from the bed and out of his thoughts. He took Virgil’s cheeks in his hands and guided his head to face Logan. Virgil’s eyes were wide with fear. God, Logan loved those eyes. They looked brown at first glance, but if you were lucky enough to get the chance to stare into them endlessly you could see that they were actually almost purple. Flecks of violet were clustered around Virgil’s pupils. His eyes were gorgeous. Logan only wished they could look pleasantly excited instead of scared more easily. “Dear  _ God _ , you’re beautiful - but that’s beside the point. I promise, Virgil, there’s nothing wrong.”

 

“But -” Virgil started, reaching up to place his left hand on top of Logan’s as he slightly turned his head towards the window again. 

 

Logan gently angled his boyfriend’s head back towards his own. “The time of sunrise changes more here than it does in Florida,” he explained evenly. “Vancouver is further from the equator than Miami, and at higher latitudes, the amount of daylight we get lessens more drastically as the solstice approaches. Because it’s still early November, the sun is likely going to be up by… 7:50, maybe not until 8:00 AM. On the day of the solstice, we’ll likely only have around eight hours of daylight, but then the days will start to get longer. Sunset will be later until daylight saving time in the spring, when we push the clocks forward, lose an hour of sleep, and balance out the falling back on time in the fall. It’s simply for convenience's sake.” Logan’s speech, which had been smooth and effortless, stopped abruptly. With a jolt of embarrassment, he realized that he was rambling again. 

 

Virgil let out a tiny puff of laughter through his nose. “You’re so cute when you go off on little tangents like that. I’ve told you before, and I’ll say it again: you don’t need to feel bad about it,” Virgil murmured, smiling slightly as he leaned into Logan’s palm. Logan opened his mouth to protest that he didn’t feel bad about it, but Virgil spoke before he could: “I can see the little cogs whirring in your brain as you worry about it. Seriously, Lo - don’t. It’s kind of calming, listening to you talk about things you’re certain of or that you like to talk about.”

 

Logan’s gaze dropped to the bed below them as a small smile crept onto his face. He felt his cheeks getting warm, and Virgil let out a quiet chuckle. “I love that you’re such a nerd, Lo. It’s so cute.” 

 

“I was… talking about the solstice, right? Did anything I said make enough sense to ease your worries?” Logan asked, slightly wanting to change the subject away from anything that identified him as ‘cute.’ Logan Berry was not ‘cute.’ He was an intellectual badass, thank you very much.

 

Virgil nodded, moving his hand off of Logan’s and onto Logan’s side. He let his hand slide down to Logan’s waist, his eyes soft.  _ He is no longer afraid _ , Logan realized, and his shoulders instinctively relaxed considerably. “Thanks, Lo,” Virgil said softly, holding Logan’s gaze for a few seconds longer before turning around. He shifted on the bed slightly, and after a few puzzled seconds Logan realized why. 

 

“Er, Virgil, it’s time that we started our day. Please do not get back into bed.” Logan knew that if Virgil fell back into the warm embrace of the flannel sheets, he would too, and that would result in severe unproductivity from either of them. This would not be ideal.

 

Virgil looked up at Logan. “But… ugh. I didn’t want to say it to you. Please don’t be mad….”

 

Logan’s expression softened. Virgil’s insomnia. Of course. “I won’t be. How much sleep were you able to get last night?”

 

“It was cold… and there was a light on outside… and then somebody was screaming about something, so I woke up… then I noticed the time and thought sleeping again was pointless.” Virgil’s voice was quiet and heavy, laced with guilt. His head was angled towards the bed, avoiding Logan’s gaze.

 

“Virgil,” Logan asked quietly, “how much did you sleep last night?”

 

“I think… 3 hours,” Virgil mumbled, his shoulders tightening defensively, as though he was bracing himself for Logan to hit him. Something in Logan’s chest burned. 

 

“Virge….” Logan started, unsure of what to say. It wasn’t his fault, and of course Logan wasn’t mad at him, but that didn’t mean that Logan knew what to say.

 

Virgil shrank away from Logan, his body shaking slightly. “‘M sorry… I’m sorry….”

 

“May I touch you, Virgil?” Logan asked, keeping his voice calm. After a few moments of scared silence, Virgil nodded. Logan tentatively reached forward and placed his hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Virgil flinched at the touch, but he looked up at Logan. His eyes were shining with fear. Logan noticed the dark shadows under his eyes.

 

Logan couldn’t stop himself from repositioning on the bed and pulling Virgil into a hug. Virgil’s posture changed, collapsing to hold Logan tightly around the middle. Logan could feel his thin frame shivering, though whether it was from the cold, anxiety, exhaustion, or something else, he couldn’t tell.

 

“Here,” Logan murmured, moving again without letting go of Virgil so that they were both lying down on the bed. Using one arm, he lifted the sheets to cover both of them. He made sure Virgil was completely covered up before holding Virgil tightly once more. He kissed his boyfriend on the top of his head, and Virgil buried his face deeper into Logan’s chest. “Rest, Virge. See if you can sleep at all.” Virgil nodded slightly just slightly, and after a few more seconds his body began to relax in Logan’s arms.

 

_ He was exhausted _ , Logan thought to himself as Virgil’s breathing slowed down to a calmer rate. Virgil would probably be a little late to work today, and it was likely that Logan would miss a good portion of his day’s tasks, but Virgil’s health was far more important than either of those. Logan held him close, feeling his breathing slow to a normal rate. He had to admit, it was nice to be in bed still, watching the sky outside slowly grow lighter as the sun rose later than it had earlier in the year.

 

~

 

“And  _ that’s _ why you’re late? Logan, honestly, you could have just texted me and said so. Then Thomas might be less mad at you… not that he really is. He trusts that you have a very good reason to miss this because you’re, well, you, but he’s still a little ticked… I mean, there  _ is _ a lot of work to do, why do you think I’m here?” Logan rolled his eyes as Roman chattered away, wishing the egocentric cast member would shut up for five minutes. Thomas was the director of Toronto’s community theater, and Roman and Logan were considered the head of cast and crew, respectively, of the theater’s production of  _ Hadestown _ . The crew was grossly understaffed for the production, so with the opening night of the performance a month and a half away, the cast members who had the time and energy worked alongside the crew to create the set.

 

Annoying as he was, Roman Price was both an excellent performer and a hard worker. He was there for every rehearsal and every crew meeting, and every single day he gave all of his work his all. Logan just wished he’d learn to be quiet and let others talk sometimes.

 

“Is there something I can help you with, Price?” Logan asked brusquely, interjecting into the middle of Roman’s tangent. 

 

Roman rolled his eyes. “Is it a crime to be concerned for my brother,  _ Berry _ ?” he answered, mimicking Logan’s tone. Logan wondered how Virgil was able to put up with him. Roman was three years older than Virgil was, but according to the latter, they had been closer than most brothers in their youth. Virgil had been devastated when Roman moved from Miami all the way to Canada, so much so that after two years, he had done the same, transporting himself to Canada mid-spring. 

 

“Fair enough. I suppose not,” Logan huffed, hating that Roman made a rational point. For once. Roman gave a triumphant grin before stalking off, leaving Logan to seek out Thomas and find out what tasks he would be working on that day.

 

~

 

Virgil’s body ached all over, but he still managed to force himself to smile at every person he greeted. Fortunately, most of the people he met there were older people trying to pick up their medicine, and it often was quiet between customers. 

 

His only coworker on the morning shift seemed to be Virgil’s opposite; Remy was probably seven years older than him, and he was outgoing, sassy, and often fell asleep at the worst of times. Virgil was an insomniac, and Remy was a hypersomniac. Virgil couldn’t sleep, but Remy couldn’t not sleep. Still, he didn’t let it stop him from being in the functioning world, and it wasn’t like their boss minded. Behind the counter at a pharmacy was a quite suitable place for a hypersomniac and an anxious insomniac to work.

 

Virgil watched boredly as Remy made small talk with the man at the drive-thru window. Remy let out a laugh at something the man had said, and Virgil heard a quiet chuckle from the man in the car. After a few more seconds, Remy turned around and called to Virgil, “Oi, Virgin, find the thing for Desjardins? Should be in a little box!” 

 

“Yeah, hold on,” Virgil answered, not really able to shout as Remy had. He went to the  _ D _ isle and hunted for the prescription medicine. He eventually found a little box with a sticker on it that read  _ Desjardins, Damien D. _ . He grabbed it off the shelf, walked over to where Remy stood at the window, and handed him the box. “This one, right?”

 

Remy scanned over the description of the medicine, his lips pursed. He nodded slowly, then leant out the window, his hand with the medicine box outstretched. “Yeah, you’re good, Virgil,” he murmured, bringing his arm up towards the driver’s open window. “Here you….” he started, but suddenly he slumped forward, his body lying limp halfway out the window. Virgil lurched forward and caught his shoulders just before Remy started slipping out the window. The man in the car let out a startled yelp and grabbed the box before it fell to the ground. 

 

Virgil let out a sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing as he pulled Remy back into the building. “Thanks for catching the box,” he said, trying and almost succeeding at keeping his voice steady. “I could only catch one or the other, and-” He broke off as he looked up at the man in the car. He was looking at the labels on the box, but that wasn’t what Virgil noticed first. Half of his face was a much tanner pigment than the rest of his pale skin. When he looked back up to Virgil, he noticed that he had heterochromia; one of his eyes was a dark brown, but the other was a light amber. He looked fascinating.

 

“Not a problem,” Desjardins responded smoothly, grinning. Virgil smiled in response, and he turned away from the window, Remy’s limp body in his arms, and began scanning the area for a chair. “Er, pardon my asking, but… is he okay?” Desjardins asked from outside. 

 

Virgil nodded. “Yeah. This happens. He’ll be okay, though. He just needs some time.” Virgil suddenly spotted a collapsible chair unfolded against the wall near the ‘A’ row of medication. With a grunt of effort, he lifted Remy off the ground and carried him over to the chair. Carefully, he sat his coworker down in a sitting position. Remy’s head lolled down onto his chest as he slept, his breathing even and deep. 

 

“Alright, cool,” Desjardins said as Virgil approached the window. “Thanks, and tell him I said ‘thank you’ when he wakes up, ey?”

 

“Will do. Thanks for coming in.” Virgil forced another smile, which Desjardins returned before rolling up his window and driving away. As soon as his car was gone, Virgil sighed, his shoulders slumping and his expression sagging. “This job can be so exhausting,” he murmured, stumbling back towards the front desk. Half-closing his eyes, he leaned on the counter in front of him and rested his chin on his hand. After a few seconds, his brain took him back to reality just in time to realize there was a customer standing in front of his register.

 

“Ah, sorry! Sorry, sorry, I- I must’ve zoned out, I’m sorry…” Virgil apologized, rather profusely, but the man smiled brightly and waved his hand as though he was waving away Virgil’s worries.

 

“It’s fine, kiddo! No worries! You’re working extra hard, and I don’t mind waiting a minute if you need a mental reboot or something!”

 

Virgil grinned as he recognized the customer in front of him. “Patton! How’re you doing, dad?” Patton Scheide was, of course, not his literal father, although he was five years older than him. He was a regular customer, as he’d usually pick up some friends’ prescriptions as well as his own. Within Virgil’s first week of working, he’d met Patton, who was not the same cheerful person he’d grown to be. “Who’s the prescription for this time?”

 

Patton smiled weakly. “Ah, me this time. I needed refills on the happy one.” His depression had been awful to him months ago, but Virgil had gotten to watch as his mental state improved. Both his therapist and the oxytocin-stimulating pills he was prescribed helped work wonders to make Patton the cheerful, friendly figure he was behind the depression.

 

“Alright, cool. Give me juuuust a second,” Virgil replied, punching a few numbers into the keypad and then turning to find the little orange bottle labeled _Schiede, Patton Q._. He found it fairly quickly and brought it back to the counter where Patton stood patiently waiting. “Okay and… good, insurance isn’t being a pain in the aaahhh- butt. Cool cool, looks like you’re good to go.” Virgil looked up at him and smiled. 

 

Patton returned the grin. “Thanks, Virgil! I hope you have an okay-enough day today!” Patton started leaning forward, but stopped himself after a half-second. “Do… you feel alright enough for me to hug you today?” Virgil loved Patton’s hugs, and even if it was unprofessional, he sometimes accepted for Patton to lean over the counter and hug him. However, the panicked events of that morning had left Virgil feeling particularly out of sorts, and to act so informally in the workplace would just leave him feeling more on edge.

 

“Not today, Pat. It’s been a weird morning,” Virgil started apologetically, but Patton waved his hand dismissively with a loose grin.

 

“It’s okay, V-kiddo, you don’t need to explain! I’ll see you around!” 

  
Virgil gave a small smile - a natural one, not his customer service smile. “Thanks, Pat.”

 

“Of course!” And with that, Patton left, leaving Virgil standing alone at the counter.

 

From his seat against the wall, Remy stirred just slightly. “Damien D. Desjardins,” he mumbled, his head lifting up slowly. He blearily met Virgil’s eyes and grinned. “That’s a whole lotta D.”

 

~

 

“Loooooogan. Can you  _ maybe _ come back to Earth, microsoft turd? We need to finish putting the studs in these walls within the next… 3 hours? Wake up, buddy!”

 

Logan blinked, his vision focusing on the present world once more. “Ah, my apologies, Roman.” 

 

“What were you thinking about this time?” Roman asked, folding his arms. 

  
“The snow,” Logan answered honestly, “and how he’ll react when he sees it.”

 

Roman knew exactly what Logan meant. He grinned and said, “I’ve thought about that recently. I am, quite honestly, close to as excited as you are. I know my brother. He’s going to love seeing the snow, but once he realizes what it’s like he’ll kind of hate it. His jaw may drop, his eyes will widen and get all shiny, he’ll have just the tiniest trace of a smile on his face….” 

  
Roman continued describing the hypothetical appearance of Virgil’s first time seeing the snow. Logan listened intently to every word he said, his mind creating a beautiful picture of Virgil’s excitement, wonder, surprise, awe…. Logan felt something in his chest tighten, rather painfully. He took a few steps back and promptly sat down in a pile of sawdust on the floor. 

 

Roman looked down at him, cocking his head in confusion. “You gucci, Logan?”

 

“I may be having a heart attack- either that, or he’s just quite literally going to kill me by being so adorable,” Logan mumbled, just loud enough for Roman to hear. He hated admitting it, but he did have feelings, and the image of Virgil that his mind had painted was simply too much for Logan’s heart to handle.

 

Roman smirked. Logan rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why I think telling you anything is a good idea.”

 

~~~

 

“Dear  _ Lord _ that I’m not sure exists, it’s cold,” Virgil exclaimed, his mittened hands clinging to his arms as he got into the passenger seat of Logan’s car. The mid-November weather had consisted of frigid, dry air and a very disappointing lack of precipitation. Virgil’s on-foot commute to the pharmacy he worked at had been rearranged due to the freezing air; Logan picked him up once both of them had finished with their work schedule, and they drove home together. 

 

Logan almost spoke up, the words threatening to leap off the tip of his tongue.  _ Just wait until the snow comes _ . Logan and Roman made a pact to not mention the existence of snow around Virgil until the first snowfall had arrived. It had been hard, but Logan was keeping it under control. Instead, Logan said, “It is indeed. It will get worse as winter goes along, though.”

 

Virgil groaned. “Noooooo. I can’t stand the cold. I shake enough as it is. I don’t need a lack of body heat making it worse.”

 

Logan turned the car on. “Welcome to Canada.”

 

“I’ve been here for, like, seven months, Lo.”

 

“Not during the winter, you haven’t.” It slipped out before Logan could catch it. The single sentence was too close to the subject of snow for Logan to sit comfortably.

  
Virgil didn’t hold onto that sentence. “How much longer until the show starts?” he asked instead, changing the subject.

 

“It’s still about a month away, luckily. We all need that time to work. The set isn’t remotely close to being complete yet.” Logan sighed. “Not to mention propping- er, prop shopping, costumes, and half the cast still needs to learn some of their lines. It’s… a work in progress.”

 

“Would… there be a way I could help?” Virgil asked as Logan pulled out of the parking space and towards the street. “I mean, I can always ask to change my hours so I can join you guys, if need be.”

 

Logan gave a small smile. “It’s not particularly that we need more people. It’s that we need the people we have to actually complete the tasks they are assigned. We’ll get there in time. A month is still a while to work, especially given that tech week will force everybody to get their act together.”

 

Virgil smiled nervously. “That’s good. Sorry for-”

 

“No apologies necessary, Virgil.” Logan looked over at his boyfriend. “Your offer to help is greatly appreciated. I may yet need to recruit you, given that half of the crew might need to be released anyway.”

 

Virgil looked down at his lap. Logan briefly thought what he said made it worse, but after a second he noticed Virgil’s smile. Logan relaxed, and he couldn’t resist smiling himself when he heard Virgil murmur, “Thanks, Lo.”

 

Once they arrived in their apartment, Logan shut and locked the door quickly. Virgil was already sitting on the couch, shivering as his body temperature slowly began to rise. Logan sought out the blankets in their bin beside the couch, and he lifted as many as he could into his arms and dropped them down on top of Virgil. 

 

Virgil gave a weak laugh from underneath the stack of blankets. Logan took his winter apparel off and hung it up on the coat rack as Virgil’s muffled voice emerged from the bottom of the pile. “Rude much?”

 

Logan smiled and walked over towards the couch. He lifted the blankets off one by one to find Virgil at the bottom, clinging to one of the softest blankets they owned. Logan sat down on the couch next to him, and Virgil immediately shifted so that he was lying against Logan’s side. Logan laughed and dropped the blankets mostly over their legs before rearraging them into what was almost a cocoon of blankets.

 

“Mmmm… why are you so warm?” Virgil asked softly, nuzzling into Logan’s chest. 

 

Logan laughed lightly. “I don’t feel very warm.”

 

Virgil brought a pale hand up to Logan’s neck. Logan let out a yelp of surprise as Virgil’s freezing fingers made contact with Logan’s skin. “Virgil- oh my god, why are your hands so cold?!”

 

“Because it’s very cold?”

 

“Don’t put them on my neck!”

 

Virgil brought his other hand to Logan’s neck. Logan shivered at the touch, a chill passing through his body. “Why are you like this,” he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut tightly.

 

“I’m an American. I take what I want.” Virgil joked. Logan opened an eye to take in Virgil’s appearance. His cheeks and nose were red with the cold, , but his eyes sparkled with playful excitement. Logan still could spot that familiar hint of worry, though, as though his joke might offend Logan.

 

Logan gave him a soft smile and kissed the top of his head. Virgil looked down, attempting to hid his smile. He removed his hands from Logan’s neck and instead wrapped his arms around Logan’s midsection. One of Logan’s arms pulled Virgil closer to his chest. Virgil gave a content sigh and let his head rest on Logan’s shoulder. Logan glanced down at him as his breathing slowly evened, showing that he was getting some well-deserved rest. Logan smiled down at his boyfriend, perfectly happy to be sitting there, cuddling him under a hefty stack of blankets.

 

~~~

 

The world outside their apartment, as it turned out, could be quite enjoyable too. Both Logan and Virgil tended to be more introverted, but as much as staying inside was preferred, interacting with the rest of the world was a necessity sometimes.

 

It had started as a shopping trip. December had arrived, and the play was just around the corner. The weather was getting colder still, but there was no sign of snow. The news promised only frozen ground and windchill at around -1°C. Miserable and cold as it was, the fridge needed restocking, leading Logan and Virgil to Metro supermarket on a Sunday afternoon.

 

“Would you be able to run and grab the coffee, Virgil?” Logan asked, his eyes scanning the cold shelves for the 2% milk bags he was looking for. Virgil nodded and darted off, and a few seconds later Logan spotted the right ones. He took one bag and set it in the cart gently before continuing to move throughout the dairy section. After a few minutes, Virgil came back with a large bag of coffee beans and a stack of coffee filters.

 

“This one, right?” he asked, showing the beans to Logan. Logan looked at the packaging, already knowing the answer to his question.

 

“Virgil, you know it’s this one. This the only coffee we’ve ever bought.” Logan gave his boyfriend a soft smile, and Virgil returned it with a sheepish grin before putting the coffee in the cart. “We need more filters?” Logan asked, eyeing the wrapped stack in his hands.

 

Virgil set the filters down next to the coffee. “Yep. We used the last one this morning.” He spotted the milk and smiled wryly. “Bagged milk. Still such a weird concept.”

 

Logan rolled his eyes, a playful smirk on his face. “You’ve been here for quite some time now, Virgil. Milk in a bag should not be something to marvel at still.”

 

Virgil glanced over at Logan, the same smile on his face. “Well, I know that, but that doesn’t mean I’m automatically used to it. If my anxiety could work like that, I wouldn’t have to medicate, now would I?”

 

Logan sighed. “Fair enough. One day I’ll squeeze the American out of you. I’ll teach you French and kindness and then you’ll be saved.” Virgil laughed warmly, his hand jumping to cover his mouth. Logan couldn’t keep himself from smiling.

 

“Now what?” Virgil asked as Logan pushed the cart back to the car once they’d finished shopping. Logan smiled, having already planned the next activity of their day.

 

“Well,” he started, opening the trunk once they got back to the car, “I was thinking that… we could go home and make sugar cookies. Does that appeal to you at all?” Logan held up a bag of miscellaneous baking ingredients for a second before placing it into the trunk with the other bags.

 

Virgil grinned and nodded. “That sounds great, actually. Let’s do this.”

 

They drove home and unpacked the groceries quickly, saving the baking ingredients for last. Logan found the utensils and tools they would need to mix the cookie dough, and Virgil dug out the recipe book and found the best sugar cookie recipe. Once everything was prepared, the two got to work.

 

“Er… Logan? Why is the vanilla amount scribbled out and rewritten?” Virgil asked as he began mixing the dry ingredients and looking over the recipe. He stood at the counter, an open cookbook in front of him and a black apron tied behind his back. When he turned to ask Logan the question, Logan recognized it as his ‘I may or may not have poisoned your meal’ apron. It was somehow already covered with stark white flour marks.

 

Logan bit back a smile. “Ah, yes, um… through the extensive research I conducted, I have determined that adding an extra teaspoon and a half of vanilla extract improves the taste of the cookies… rather drastically. Not that they’re bad with only one teaspoon, but they do become that much better with two and a half.” Virgil stared at him in disbelief. “Although, as useful and tasty as vanilla extract is, too much had begun to alter the cookie’s cooking process and it was impossible to create a cookie with the right consistency and color.”

 

Virgil stared at him in silence for a moment before finally responding with, “You’re a huge nerd, Lo.”

 

The couple baked the sugar cookies without any problems arising. After a few minutes of the trays being in the oven, the entire apartment smelled like sugar and vanilla and heaven itself. Virgil pulled the cookies out of the oven once they finished, leaving them to cool on the cooling racks on the countertop. Whilst they cooled, Logan and Virgil began to prep the icing bags, sprinkles, and other decorations Logan had bought.

 

“This is an excessive amount of edible glitter,” Virgil noted, looking into the bags and pulling out edible glitter in every color of the rainbow and black. “My brother would be proud.”

 

“It was my intention to make a glittery rainbow cookie. I have never been one for glitter, but I thought it could be fun.”

 

Virgil wrinkled his nose. “That’s a little much, no?”

 

“Those were the smallest containers Metro had.”

 

Virgil gave him a sassy grin. Logan rolled his eyes, grabbed some flour off the table in the kitchen, and threw it lightly into Virgil’s face. “Hey look,” he joked as Virgil let out an incredulous gasp, “some powdered makeup that matches your skin tone.”

 

Virgil’s jaw dropped and his eyebrows raised. “You’re actually gonna play that card?” He planted his full palm into the flour and pressed his hand to Logan’s chest, placing a white handprint on Logan’s black shirt and beloved striped blue necktie. 

 

Logan gasped, jokingly offended. “How  _ dare _ you threaten my necktie? You will not get away with this.”

 

Both Logan and Virgil wore black clothes almost twenty-four/seven. When the oven timer beeped almost twenty minutes later, signifying that the cookies would be cool enough to decorate, they froze and stared at it. Neither of them seemed to be wearing black. Virgil’s fist was raised above his head, actively full of flour. His other arm was pulling Logan forward by the collar. Both of Logan’s hands were full of flour, held above Virgil’s head.

 

They looked away from the oven in sync, meeting each other’s gaze. After a few seconds of near-silence, save the oven beeping, Logan opened his fists and dropped a bunch of flour onto Virgil’s head. It landed in his dark hair and created a large white cloud, and Virgil started coughing. 

 

“Are- are you alright?” Logan asked, humor fading and being replaced by worry. 

 

“You….” Virgil started hoarsely, before breaking off coughing again. After a few second coughing fit, he croaked, “You little shit.”

 

Logan brushed the flour cloud away to see the hair on top of Virgil’s head several shades lighter. His face was dusted with flour, pale skin whitened to an almost vampiric hue. His eyes held traces of fear, but they were light with adrenaline and excitement nonetheless. 

 

Logan began to bring his flour-covered hands up to cradle Virgil’s face, but Virgil lowered his arm and blew his puff of flour into Logan’s face. “No, you don’t- you don’t get to be all cutesy and shit after declaring war on me.”

 

“But you’re so adorable,” Logan whined, brushing the flour out of his eyes with his shoulder. Virgil let out a huffy sigh, his cheeks turning pink behind the flour.

 

Logan once again attempted to hold Virgil’s cheeks once more. Virgil allowed him, though he turned his head away slightly. Logan couldn’t keep himself from leaning forward and pecking Virgil’s flour-coated cheek. Virgil let out a little whine of protest, spinning away and hiding his face in his no-longer-black sweatshirt sleeve. Logan smiled and ran his fingers through Virgil’s hair, messing it up and sending flour rising into the air before it settled back down on top of Virgil’s wavy hair once again. “You’re just the cutest thing,” Logan murmured. 

 

“You’re still an asshole.”

  
  


~~~

 

“Eh… Logan? I’m not so sure about this….” Virgil called from the bathroom. Logan pulled his solid black sweatshirt over his head and met Virgil in front of the mirror. He couldn’t resist smiling at the sight of him; the purple button down shirt, black-and-white striped tie, and black dress pants he was wearing were rather stunning. Virgil looked at Logan’s outfit of a black sweatshirt and sweatpants and sighed. “Why do you get to dress down for this?”

 

“I’m in the crew, Virgil. We have to wear tech black. This way nobody sees us up on stage.”

 

“I want to wear black so nobody sees me,” Virgil huffed. “It’s like we switched styles. It’s not fair.”

 

Logan let a puff of laughter out through his nose. “That’s an amusing take on this. Don’t worry, Virgil. You look lovely.”

 

Virgil blushed, looking away from Logan with a weird smile pulling his lips upward. “S- teh- why do you insist on doing this?” Logan assumed a confused expression, though he fully understood what his boyfriend meant. “I am- a pillar of darkness. The epitome of all things evil and scary about the world, and- stop making me flustered, Lo!” Virgil whined the last phrase, burying his face in his hands. Logan could tell by his tone that it was a playful thing rather than a bad one.

 

The air outside was chilly, but not miserably cold, and as the theater was only a few blocks away, Logan and Virgil decided to gear up for the high winds and walk to the theater. “We’re going to get there fairly early, and I’m going to need to head backstage as soon as we arrive. You have earbuds and your iPod?” Logan confirmed, and Virgil nodded, tapping the pocket in his heavy dark purple coat. Logan nodded in response, satisfied. “Good. I’ll have my phone on me up until the play starts, but I’m technically not supposed to have it out, especially not during the show. If there’s an emergency before the show or during intermission, text me and we can work through it, but other than that I will not be available.”

 

Virgil took a deep breath. “Okay. Thanks, Lo.”

 

True to his word, Logan had to disappear as they arrived at the theater. Fortunately, the auditorium was mostly empty when Virgil walked in after purchasing his ticket. He chose a seat near the front and center of the room where he’d easily be able to see the performance, but not so front-and-center that he would stand out. After going through the struggle of untangling his earbuds, he began listening to the soundtrack of the show on YouTube while admiring the set. He let his mind wander about, imagining the performance playing out on the stage before him.

 

~

 

“You brought him tonight?” Roman demanded as soon as Logan set foot backstage. His hair was in curlers, clearly only half-done, and though he had his shirt for his first scene already on, he still wore gray baggy sweatpants.

 

Logan gave Roman a tiny shove, causing the cast member to stumble backwards. “Yes, he’s here. I don’t think he knows you’re performing tonight, but he’s obviously going to find out.”

 

“Um,  _ performing _ ? You say that as though I’m some trivial, minor  _ extra _ . I’m not just performing, Logan, I’m staking a claim to the stage that I call home!” Roman grinned widely, staring off into the distance with a look of determination on his face.

 

“You’re a nutcase, is what you are.”

 

~

 

“Viiiirgil,” a voice called quietly, and Virgil felt someone tapping his shoulder lightly. He jumped, pausing his music and spinning around in his seat to see none other than Patton standing beside him in the aisle. “Heya, kiddo! Welcome back to earth!”

 

“Patton? What- hi..? What are you… doing here?” Virgil asked, almost stuttering in confusion. For all the chatting they’d done at work, Virgil had never actually seen Patton outside of the pharmacy.

 

Patton smiled brightly, giggling a little. “Same as you, silly. Seeing the play. Is anyone sitting there?” He pointed to the empty chair next to Virgil, an inquisitive look on his face.

 

“N…no,” Virgil answered slowly. “Go ahead.”

 

Patton grinned, and Virgil moved out of the way so Patton could get past him without a problem. “Gosh, I’ve seen it four times already, but this set is so beautiful. It’s amazing that people we know worked on this without asking for money or anything, isn’t it?” Patton looked at Virgil, a warm smile on his face.

 

“It is,” Virgil answered, feeling proud for Logan. His boyfriend had overseen the execution of this project, and it  _ did _ look amazing. The rest of what Patton said sank in suddenly, and Virgil looked at him questioningly. “Wait, four times? You went to the showings last weekend?”

 

Patton nodded, looking back towards the stage. “Yup. And the one yesterday. My boyfriend has the lead role, and I love watching him perform. He’s so graceful and elegant, and he can just play any role so perfectly….” Patton let out a sigh, staring dreamily up at the stage. “It’s astounding. He’s… perfect.”

 

“Heh, he sounds kinda like my older brother. He’s always had this knack for performances, and he’s definitely as close to perfect as they come.” Virgil chuckled, looking at the set and wondering where Logan would be throughout the show. He and Patton talked a little more, and soon the lights began to dim. The clamor in the room quieted as the show started.

 

A few moments into the show, Virgil gasped as a familiar figure walked on stage and began to sing. “Roman?! Wait, wait wait wait, what the—” he muttered under his breath, looking around frantically for his playbill. Sure enough, under the name  _ Orpheus _ was a picture of his brother and the caption ‘Roman Price.’ Virgil looked up from the book and at the stage, watching his brother act and dance and sing.  _ Small world.  _

 

“So Patton,” Virgil started at intermission as the two stood in line for concessions. “Y’know how you said that your boyfriend is the lead role?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Well, my brother is the lead role.” Patton looked at Virgil in surprise. Virgil smiled awkwardly and said, “You’re dating my brother.”

 

“Roman Price is your  _ brother _ ?”

 

Virgil nodded. “Yep. Virgil Price, two years younger.”

 

“No kidding!” Patton exclaimed, grinning at him. “That’s so cool! Wow, and I met you both separately not even knowing you were related…. That’s crazy.”

 

The rest of the performance went by spectacularly. Closing night did nothing to tire the cast, and each number was performed as though it was the first time ever doing it for an audience. Virgil enjoyed the production through to the very end. When the show was over, the cast came out in groups for the bows, and Virgil and Patton were among the first to get up and give them the standing ovation they deserved. 

 

When Roman walked onto the stage as one of the last people, Patton cheered loudly, and Roman looked over and caught his eye. He grinned at his boyfriend but then immediately spotted Virgil next to him. He smiled wider, took his bow, and turned back to the rest of the cast. The entire cast lined up and gave one bow all together, causing the whole auditorium to erupt with cheers. Before anyone could leave, though, Roman stepped forward to the front of the stage.

 

“Tech, is my.. my mic is still on? Okay good, this kind of won’t work without it.” Roman grinned, and the audience chuckled. “First and foremost, I want to thank everybody for coming out here tonight for the last performance of  _ Hadestown _ . This has been such a wonderful….” 

 

Virgil zoned out as Roman began getting sentimental about closing night, wondering when cast and crew would be dismissed so he could find Logan again. His mind drifted, but it snapped back to the real world when he heard something in Roman’s speech change. 

 

“And as such, there’s something that I need to do. He looked out at the audience, as though searching until his eyes landed first on Virgil, then on Patton. He smiled warmly and said, “Can… darling, could you come up here please?”

 

Heads turned. Virgil’s stomach dropped as everyone in the room looked in his direction, even if they weren’t staring at him. He ducked out of the way, wanting to hide from their eyes. Luckily, Patton obliged, walking through the aisle and up onto the stage at the front of the room.

 

“Patton here is my boyfriend of 2 years, six months, and twenty seven days, and approximately….” He checked his watch before looking up at Patton once more. “16 hours, maybe 37 minutes? It’s been a very long time, and for those entire two and a half years, he’s supported me and helped me through my lows and highs in my artistry and in my life in general. He’s come to every performance I’ve given since moving here three years ago, and honestly? He’s the reason I feel like I can go on performing sometimes. I… I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am today without your help.”

 

Patton blushed and looked away from the audience, mumbling something incoherent. Roman grinned and took his hand. “And… I couldn’t imagine… doing this without you.” Patton’s eyes widened. Roman took one knee and pulled a tiny box out of his back pocket. “Stabbing me in the butt, that was…. Patton Schiede, will you marry me?”

 

Patton didn’t have a microphone on him like Roman did, but the audience knew his answer despite this. With a completely starstruck look on his face, he took the ring out of the box, slipped it onto his left ring finger, and nodded. Roman stood up and kissed his new fiancé, and the audience erupted into cheers. Virgil grinned and folded his arms, his eyes on his brother as the older male smiled gleefully. “Extra as always. Didn’t expect anything less from you, Princey.”

 

~

 

“What did you think of the show, Virgil?” Logan asked as the couple walked towards the doors a few paces behind Roman and Patton. Logan was rather satisfied with his work, and very pleased that Thomas had decided strike would be on a different day. He didn’t want to make his boyfriend walk home alone in the cold.

 

“It was really damn impressive. The setup of everything was just… mindblowingly perfect. I can’t believe you and the crew organized that so amazingly. It’s so….” Virgil trailed off, and Logan smiled softly, at first thinking it was because his boyfriend didn’t have the words. He noticed a focused look in Virgil’s eyes, though, and his eyebrows furrowed. “Lo…? What is that?”

 

From ahead of them, Roman turned around with a large grin on his face. “Hey techie,” he called excitedly, “it’s time.”

 

The four of them walked out the front doors to see a wondrous whitened expanse in front of them. Logan looked up at the sky as puffy clusters of snow drifted from the sheet of gray clouds above their heads. The lights lining the streets illuminated its presence, highlighting it to stand out against the darkness. A thin lining already rested on the ground.

 

“Is this….” Virgil murmured, and Logan turned to see his boyfriend standing frozen in place. Virgil looked around from the snow under the lights to the sky to the flakes themselves and back between all of them. He held a hand out in front of him, letting snowflakes land on his black glove and linger there before slowly melting to droplets of water. He looked up from his glove, back to the sky, and then to Logan. The slightest traces of an amazed smile pulled at his lips. His eyes were wide and white against the darkness, shimmering brightly with unbridled excitement and awe with no trace of fear or sadness. 

 

Logan _physically_ _felt himself_ falling further in love with Virgil.

 

“Hey guys?” Patton asked, drawing Virgil’s attention away from the snow and Logan’s attention away from his boyfriend. He pointed to his phone as best as he could through his fluffy blue mittens and said, “It looks like this is supposed to be a blizzard that’s just hit us. We should… probably go find shelter?”

 

Roman stepped forward to stand directly beside his new fiance, placing an arm around Patton’s waist and pulling him close. “Our house isn’t too far away from here. If you two are not against leaving your car overnight, we could just pile into mine and drive there. We can wait out the storm and- oh! We can have a little after-party! Just the four of us!” Roman grinned, looking between Roman and Virgil excitedly. “What do you say?”

 

Logan and Virgil exchanged a glance. Logan knew they’d left their car at home. It hadn’t been snowing like this on the way to the theater, after all, and the two agreed that the exercise was important. They wouldn’t be able to beat the storm, especially not with the new snow beginning to cover the sidewalks. 

 

“Yes. I like this plan.”

 

“Beats anything I can come up with. Let’s go, Princey.”

 

Roman grinned even wider. The four of them trudged towards his car, and once they escaped the rush of the cast and crew members trying to leave the theater, the drive to Roman and Patton’s house didn’t take any more than ten minutes. The entire time, Logan watched Virgil stare out the window at the white clusters falling from the sky. They had begun to lose their majestic drift, but, Logan supposed, to somebody who’d never seen snow falling before, it would still be a beautiful sight.

 

Roman and Patton’s house and lawn already had around half an inch of snow layered down when they pulled into the driveway. Grass could be seen poking through, but Logan knew it wouldn’t be visible for much longer. The four hurried out of the car and inside the house, immediately greeted with heat and the smell of chocolate chip cookies.

 

“Oops,” Patton said, an apologetic tone in his voice. “I may have forgotten to blow out the candle.” Logan glanced towards the mantle, where a round, squat candle stood burning. It presented the image of a tray of cookies that looked fresh out of the oven.

 

Roman pushed Patton’s hat off his forehead and kissed him gently. “It’s okay, love. I forget rather frequently.”

 

Logan gave Roman an incredulous look. “Roman, that is a major fire hazard! There are approximately fifteen thousand, six hundred house fires per year due to candles left burning! It’s rather astounding that you’re both still alive and that your house is still intact. I do not understand that at all….” 

 

Roman rolled his eyes. “You worry too much.”

 

“Ehhh… no he doesn’t,” Virgil interjected, exchanging a knowing glance with Logan.

 

The four of them took off their hats, coats, gloves, scarves, and boots at the front door. They arranged everything onto the coat hangers before proceeding to the couch. Logan watched as Virgil sat backwards and peered between the curtains, once again looking out the window at the snow outside. 

 

“It’s covering everything….” he murmured, his eyes shining with awe. Logan smiled to himself, placing his elbow on the back of the couch and resting his head on his hand so he could admire his boyfriend’s admiration of the snow. 

 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Logan asked softly, only half referring to the snow.

 

After a few seconds, Virgil looked away from the outside world and met Logan’s eyes. “It sure is.”

 

Roman snickered suddenly, drawing Virgil’s and Logan’s attention away from the snow and each other and towards him. He stood in front of the couch, a huge grin on his face. “Oh,” he started dramatically, pointing subtly upwards, “would you look at that?” Virgil and Logan looked up to see Roman’s hand holding a bundle of green leaves with white berries above their heads. “Mistletoe,” Roman purred with a smirk. He raised his eyebrows knowingly, an expectant look on his face.

 

“Roman, you’re an ass.” Logan sighed. “Kissing in front of others is not always the best thing for… well, either of us.”

 

“I mean… do you have a problem with it, right here and now?” Virgil asked shyly, taking Logan’s hand in his own. 

 

“I- er… presently, no, but -”

 

“Good,” Virgil interrupted, bringing his other hand to hold Logan’s cheek and direct Logan’s mouth towards his. Their lips met, chapped in the dry winter air, but causing Logan’s heart to feel like it had tripped and fallen all the same. Ignoring all other human presence, Logan kissed back, his free hand moving to Virgil’s neck so that his thumb rested on Virgil’s cheek. The kiss didn’t last more than a few seconds, but for… reasons, it left Logan feeling breathless nonetheless.

 

“You two are so cute, oh my goodness gracious,” Patton piped up from the armchair by the fireplace, his hands on his cheeks and a huge smile on his face.

 

“Says the guy who was just proposed to in the most public place in one of the most romantic ways possible,” Virgil scoffed, his cheeks running red. He turned quickly to Logan and said, “When you propose, don’t do it like that yayhoo did.” He jabbed his thumb at Roman. “Privacy is very much appreciated.”

 

Logan couldn’t stop himself from winking. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,  _ when _ I do.” 

 

Virgil paused, clearly thinking, and suddenly realized his own word choice. “I- er… fuck. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean -”

 

Logan silenced his boyfriend’s rambling with another quick kiss. “It’s okay, Virge. No apologies necessary.”

 

“Sorry,” Virgil mumbled again, releasing Logan’s hand and dropping his arms. He looked down, his eyes flitting around and not seeming to land on any one thing. He appeared to catch sight of the outside world again, and he lifted his gaze towards the snow. “Oh jeez, it’s falling so much faster now. Is this… is this normal?”

 

Logan followed his gaze, seeing that everything outside was covered in a haze of white and gray. He chuckled, nodding slightly. “If anything, ‘normal’ equates to ‘much harder than this’. Welcome to Canada.”


End file.
